A Conversation with Urban Planner, Mustafa Sherif

In this episode, I sit down with Mustafa Sherif (LinkedIn, Instagram). He is the creator and host of the URBANISTICA podcast. He is also an Urban Planner working at AFRY in Stockholm, Sweden. 

Mustafa was born in Bagdad and came to Sweden with his family at age 17. He received a degree in architecture and later when on to complete a Masters in Urban Planning and Design from the Royal Technical Institute (KTH).

This is a wide-ranging conversation with someone that has given a lot of thought into how cities should be designed and how do these decisions affect people. We cover a lot of topics including how he defines the concept of “home”, what makes a good city and how Urban Planning has changed over the years to become more inclusive. 

I hope you enjoy the joy of this fascinating interview about belonging to our cities. 

 Please find below the show notes including links to everything we talked about. 

Shownotes:

Q (Question): Where is your favorite place and why?

A (Answer): Piazza Duomo, Milano, Italy. Because of the people. There are no trees, nor fountains, just people. Being among people, watching them even, brings joy. 

 – Jan Gehl – FAIA is a Danish architect and urban design consultant based in Copenhagen whose career has focused on improving the quality of urban life by re-orienting city design towards the pedestrian and cyclist.

Q: Where does your story start? 

A: Born in Bagdad, Iraq, in 1993. His parents’ concern and threats of security forced Mustafa’s family to move from within Bagdad to other parts of Iraq, before eventually arriving in Sweden. 

Arrived in Sweden as 17 years old, and his family decided that was no going back, Sweden was going to be permanent. 

Q; How did you get interested in Urban Planning?

A: After learning Swedish, Mustafa enrolled in university went on to study Architecture. He later went on to study Urban Planning and Design at KTH (Royal Technology University) in Stockholm. This opened up an opportunity to study in Milan as an exchange student, which he describes as one of the best experiences of his life. 

Q: Can you recall a moment where you felt like you didn’t belong?

A: Yes, every time we landed in a new place, city, or country. In the first moments, it feels like this is not our place. During these moves, we kept reminding ourselves

Q: What was it like moving to Sweden?

A: Mustafa’s moved to many different places within Iraq. He was one of 4 siblings and his father feared for his and his family’s safety. Eventually arriving in Sweden. 

His curiosity led him to ask why he felt happier in some places, and what of that is a product of the larger scale of experience, outside buildings.   

Q: How do you define “home”?

A: Home is made up of two components, the ‘hardware’ and the ‘software’. Hardware refers to physical and tangible things like a house, dwelling, or property of some kind. This is something that you own. The ‘software’ is the emotional, cultural, and spiritual aspects. It was not until his parents bought their place in Helsingborg that he was able to call this place home. Now he bought a place in Stockholm and is happy to call it his home. 

Q: How did you get into Urban Planning?

A: He always held the “vibe” of a place, and wanted to understand why he felt better in some places and worse in others. He started in architecture, but it was not his “why”. He felt that life is much larger than individual buildings. Urban planning offered a way to see how many different aspects come together to create life. 

Urban planning offers also the possibility to change things, to improve the lives of others. 

“In most dense cities in the world, 

Q: Can you explain what the Placemaking movement is about?

A: Placemaking started in the ’70s, and it has grown a lot since those early days. Placemaking is about making a space that no one likes or wants into a place where everyone feels welcomed and wants to be. It acts on the principle of co-creation and inclusion, where everyone plays a part and has a say in defining how the space should be used and transformed. It is a truly welcoming and inclusive method for creating places where everyone belongs. 

Q: Why isn’t Placemaking the norm? How was Urban planning done 20-30 years ago? 

A: Urban planning was top-down. The urban planners would create a scenario for people to follow. Little attention was paid to people’s needs. The USA is a typical example of how urban planning can go wrong. There the planning was made around the highway and cars. 

Placemaking is a global organization (https://www.pps.org/ ) 

Q: What projects are you currently working on?

A: Currently I am involved in a Placemaking project in Helsingborg. We are applying this method for designing a park and public square. It will be finished in about 2 years (2023) since placemaking does take its time. 

Q: How are things changing on a Political level? How are cities changing their approach these days?

A: There is now a very clear and widespread awareness that cities and urban spaces can no longer be designed around the car. They are also looking at being more inclusive. Take Stockholm as an example, for every urban project there is a law that says that every stakeholder must be consulted, and how can this feedback be included and incorporated into the project. 

It is quite normal for Urban Planners to spend a lot of time talking to people and asking them about their wants and desires for the space. It is then their job to document and interpret these stories into decisions within the planning. 

The result will be a shift in the scale of cities. Cities will become more accessible and liveable, much in the way the cities in Italy are on the right scale. 

Rapid-fire questions

Your favorite city and why?

Milano, for the art and culture

Which place would you like to visit (that you haven’t visited before)?

Time Square, NYC. After watching it on screen, it would be great to experience it in person. 

Books that you recommend?

“Koden För En Bra Stad: Haussmanns Paris” (The code for a good city, Haussman’s Paris). A critical take on the (re)building by Napoleon 3rd. 

Where can people learn more about you and your work?

Mustafa’s Podcast, “Urbanistica”

Arch daily: https://www.archdaily.com/ 

Final words from Mustafa

Ask yourself how much space is enough for you? How can we be more aware of the space we live and use every day? People should be more conscious about the space they are using and what kind of places they would like to live in. 

Thank you for listening. Please don’t forget to like and subscribe! 

Acknowledgments:

Music by Ergy, aka Hugues Coudurier, Facebook

Thank you for listening! 

I would love your Feedback: Please send me an email at createbelonging@gmail.com and let me know what you thought of the episode. 

You can also follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/createbelonging/ or on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/create-belonging 

My guest today is a spoken word Artist named Kerone Campbell

Kerone was born in Jamaica, raised in Brooklyn, NYC, and has been living in Stockholm for 6 years. Kerone, like many of us, is someone that has given a lot of thought to Belonging. Through his words and his Art, he is able to communicate wholeheartedly, in a way that very few of us can. 

However, can all relate to the emotions that his work evokes. 

• Kerone is has been a creative person who was born in Kingston, Jamaica. 
• Immigrated to New York City (Jamaica Queens) when he was 10 years old

Where/when does Kerone belong?

• Kerone belongs in the present, but it was never that way
• Throughout his life, he never felt like he truly belongs. 
• He found his belonging in Stockholm – when walking to the supermarket

The disillusionment of not fitting into ideals as a child immigrant. 

Life lesson: When you immigrate to a place, you can be anyone you want to be. 

Q: What’s it like being back in Sweden, compared to being black in New York?

• In Sweden, racism is more subtle. The only time race and other forms of discrimination are talked about is at the extremes. Upon explicit forms of racism and discrimination, Swedes tend to say “Well, I’m not like that, we are not THAT racist”. They are quick to point at these extreme examples and claim the higher road without acknowledging that they might act on their bias or engage in other forms of exclusion.
• Instead, racism is subtle. 
• Kerone came to the realization that racism is their problem, not his. There is little he can do to change others’ opinions, other than just living his truth and living his life.

Book: Subtle Acts of Exclusion but Dr. Tiffany Jana, and Michael Baran. 

Why it is important for him to bring to the surface the issue of slavery and other traumatic events of the past. 

How did he get started with Spoken Word? 

Keron discovered Spoken Word in 2003, however, he would not find his voice until he came to Stockholm. He started writing following a painful breakup. Today he writes on many topics including family, society, and relationships.

What happens when you don’t feel as you belong?

How he found his own belonging. Why belonging is much bigger than what anyone else thinks or does to you. 

The importance of realizing that you are on your own journey, charting your own path. 

Do you have any tips or practices for healthy belonging? 

• it’s important to follow curiosity

Sebene Selassie – “You Belong” – talks about the importance of curiosity for finding belonging.  

Here is how to get in touch with Kerone:

Website: https://keronecampbell.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keronecampbell

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keronecampbell/

Acknowledgments:

Music by Ergy, aka Hugues Coudurier, Facebook

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Thank you for listening! 

I would love your Feedback: Please send me an email at createbelonging@gmail.com and let me know what you thought of the episode. 

You can also follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/createbelonging/ or on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/create-belonging 

In this episode, we speak to Chris Hovde

(Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook). 

A self-proclaimed “Urban Monk”, Chris is unapologetically living a life where he strives to make sure his behaviors are in accordance with his values.

He is one of the people leaders at Telia, one of the largest telecoms with 21000 employees across the globe. He holds many roles and responsibilities, including employee wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, and promoting self-leadership. 

Chris sits on the boards of many companies and is very involved in many initiatives concerning the environment, technology, and issues around racial and gender inclusivity. You can check out his meditation and well-being initiative here: regenerativemonks.com/ 

He is someone that leads by example and is on a mission to helping people live their most authentic selves. 

So at this point, you may be wondering why I invited an Urban Monk to be on a podcast about belonging?! 

Chris is someone that belongs to himself first and foremost. He understands that in order to inspire and help others, we must first live our own truths.

Chris is not one for excuses. And in this podcast, he challenges us to stop lying to ourselves and to start the journey to our authentic selves. 

Topics Discussed:

• Cognitive Dissonance and how we tend to respond to it. 
• The 3 dimensions of belonging (According to Mateo): 

1. Belonging with the Self (the theme that this podcast episode is based on)
2. Belonging with others (includes belonging with our partners, family, groups, community, nations etc., and any kind of inter-personal belonging). 
3. Belonging to the planet or universe (understanding that we belong to this planet, with all living things and objects, including the wider universe). 

• Singularity University Summit
• Minimalism
• Clarity and doing less is key to making an impact
• Greta Thunberg is someone that is living true to her values. She doesn’t do too many things, just the necessary to make an impact. 
• Finding peace with what matters to you, then anyone else’s opinion is not necessary. 
• Change starts with knowing your personal values and purpose in life
• Indifference is a trap, it’s better to have people hate you than to have them be indifferent. 
• Being discriminated against for being gay helped him to connect with others that are also marginalized
• Professional is a mask. Acting professional prevents people from being their true selves. 
• Link to post, showing why it’s important to be vulnerable and share your story. 
• The importance of stop lying to ourselves. We need to be true to our word. 
• How to do a gratitude journal
• The importance of walking the walk
• His work at Telia, and how he is helping in setting up a more fair recruitment process
• What makes Chris so special: he is not ruled by fear. What he wants is always more powerful than the force of fear. 
• His mother had high expectations of him as a child
• Reframe, from “hard work” to “smart work”. 
• We should get off the hamster wheel of producing volume, and instead focus on what one truly wants to achieve in a quarter. 
• We can have a bigger impact with less. Creating diversity and inclusion conferences online is an example. 
• The Pareto Principle AKA, “the 80/20 rule”
• Systems Thinking as a way to understand where to focus efforts 
• How the pandemic was a gift, a sort of “reset” that Chris has been longing for, as a catalyst for societal transformation. 

Chris’ Summary of the conversation in 2 points:

1. Start being honest with yourself? Change can happen with small changes. Try to find meaning where you are. 
2. Start backing up the things you say you care about with actions. 

Reach out and connect with Chris: (Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook). 

“Regenerative Monks” – Where you can find his dinners and meditation services

Acknowledgments:

This podcast is created, produced, and edited by me, Mateo Bornico

Music by Ergy, aka Hugues Coudurier, Facebook

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Thank you for listening! 

I would love your Feedback: Please send me an email at createbelonging@gmail.com and let me know what you thought of the episode. 

You can also follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/createbelonging/ or on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/create-belonging